Lithographically patterned molecularly imprinted polymer for gravimetric detection of trace atrazine

In this paper, we examined a novel molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) patterned matrix, consisting of methacrylic acid (MAA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as functional and cross-linking monomers, respectively, for detection of trace atrazine in an aqueous solution. A solvent assisted soft lithography and UV-initiated polymerization were used to develop striped poly(MAA-EGDMA) patterns. In comparison to a planar MIP film (Δfp-MIP = −158 Hz), the striped patterns showed faster sensing response (Δfs-MIP = −269 Hz) for the 30 min detection period due to the relatively increased binding sites generated from the MIP stripes. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the MIP sensor was found to be −9.98 Hz (μM)−1 via gravimetric quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements and the selectivity of the MIP stripes was evaluated through sensing characteristics of other herbicides. Thus, a control of binding sites via this lithographic technique could contribute to the development of efficient MIP sensing platforms.

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